working out, chowing down, & living up the college life

Veganista #TransformationTuesday

Happy Tuesday, or as the world of social media likes to call it, #TransformationTuesday.

This is the elected day of the week where it is deemed socially acceptable to post photos of yourself from the past, maybe next to a more current one if you’re going for the full effect. Often times, you’ll see photos of people from a younger, quirkier age, or within the health/fitness social media community, maybe a darker, heavier time in their lives.

Being the veganista that I am, my mind naturally wanders to the incredible mind, body and spirit transformation that veganism has brought me, a true englightment.

Among all the incredible things this lifestyle has provided me, it has given me gifts of the physical sort. The abundant plant foods I have consumed over the past 2+ years have given me the strength to continue exercising, but also to effortlessly stay lean while eating as much as my heart desires (high-carb, low-fat whole plant foods).

I noticed the biggest difference in my overall body composition right off the bat, within the first few months of altering my lifestyle, but looking back through photos, I realize that the change has been continuous.

Since all animal products are inflammatory foods, immediately going from constant consumption to none at all will have quite a dramatic effect on your whole system. Your body will immediately start running more efficiently without the previous disruption it dealt with prior. For more information on the inflammation animal products cause, check out nutritionfacts.org.

After living a life of 20 years consuming animal products, you better believe it may take at least a couple years to completely detox your body. The changes I may be enduring now I don’t even notice, as I am living in my body all the time, but when I start putting photos together from years past and recently, I’m once again taken back by how powerful this lifestyle is.

To remind you, I did not transition from a conventional unhealthy lifestyle at all, but that of a conventional “healthy diet” with low-fat and lean animal products and daily cardio. I was living my life as healthy as I knew how prior to finding veganism, when sh*t got real.

As I write this post about physical transformation, I must remind you all that veganism is far more than the aesthetic it provides you. Going vegan incomparably benefits your health, the environment and all the living beings of this beautiful planet. It’s a lifestyle that promotes peace, compassion, sustainability and prosperity for all. A true beacon of hope to save the world as we know it.

I’ve compiled a few photos comparing my pre-vegan and vegan self. For reference sake, I went vegan July 5, 2013. Enjoy!

We have all heard that your exterior can say a lot about what’s going on in the inside, and most of the times that is exactly the case. As much as I trust the system by how I look and feel everyday, I wish more than anything I could get a glimpse into what my insides looked like before and what they look like now. Now that would be a real #TransformationTuesday if I’ve ever seen one.